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Published 13:01 IST, December 5th 2019

NASA announces first findings found by Parker Solar Probe on its mission to the Sun

NASA revealed the finding of the Parker Solar Probe which was launched from Earth for the 'touch the Sun' mission, which recorded the dynamics of solar winds

Reported by: Pragya Puri
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In the latest findings of NASA, from the spacecraft that was sent to ‘touch the Sun’ has revealed its first information. The spacecraft called The Parker Solar Probe that was sent to Sun has moved closer to them than it was before and it revealed its first set of information from the mission. The main objective of the mission was to find out the reason behind why the outer surface of the sun, called the Corona is extremely hot. 

The Parker Solar reveals striking features of Sun

The Parker Solar which is a car-sized spacecraft was launched from Earth last year during the summers. According to NASA, the spacecraft is supposedly 15 million miles away from the Sun. The information was published in the journal  Nature. NASA also posted the first five findings on Twitter. The spacecraft confirmed that the picture taken by NASA of Sun from Earth is deceptively simple. It revealed that there was no such spacecraft in the past that could reveal information about the solar wind and solar energetic particles. It is revealed that solar energetic particles are dangerous in nature for the astronauts and satellites, and the solar wind is the continuous flow of energy particles. 

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The researchers believe that the magnetic field of the Sun is continuously changing and is quickly flipping. It often reserves back and sometimes moves straight away. The strange and dynamic magnetic behavior of the Sun could redirect the solar winds towards the Earth. It majorly affects the space weather, which scientists are still investigating. There were five features that the Parker Solar Probe found about the solar winds. 

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READ: Watch: NASA Satellite Locates Crashed Site Of Vikram Lander

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Usually, according to the findings of the scientists, there are dust particles found in the atmosphere which are responsible for reflecting the light. However, Parker found that there is a ‘dust-free zone’ surrounding the Sun, which stops at three and a half million miles from the Sun. Hence there is a dust-free zone around the Star. The second feature observed by the spacecraft was that the magnetic field behaves in a whip-like motion which keeps constantly changing every second, which NASA termed as Switchbacks. The third finding was that the solar wind is under continuous turbulence. It has a rough and irregular texture. Parker also found a transition point in the solar winds. Sun also produces small scale particles which are closely packed around the sun, however, they spread in different directions when they move away from the Sun. 

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(with inputs from agencies)

Updated 14:00 IST, December 5th 2019